Deluxe Bayview Room

Our deluxe bayview room overlooking the water watching the boats go by was amazing! Room was clean, food was good, drinks were cold and the weather was very hot. The resort is built on a hill so be prepared to walk up and down constantly unless you want to wait for the shuttle. I don't mind walking but for someone with mobility issues it may not be the best resort to visit. This is the second time we visited and would definitely recommend.

Very nice resort

Very clean resort! Lacks the “wow” factor but was comfortable. Staff very pleasant and accommodating. Food at buffet could be improved as far as variety. Beach chairs need improvement and lights at night on beach are greatly needed.

Nice resort

Grounds were very nice. Food on the other hand was ok...but you cannot live off rice and beans every meal. Not much selection. We didnt get the room we booked (double) but the view we got was beautiful (#1903). Rooms need updated and fixing as sink and shower would not drain and there was no door on shower. Swimming in the gulf was my highlight...loved it. No soliciting on the beach which was nice. People doing massages would ask once and if you said no would leave you alone.

Billy goat trails

Nightmare to walk this resort. Every other person got sick! Food or water who knows ! Staff were excellent and services were ok. Lack of service on beach and no where to actually sit is an issue. Not a 4 or even close to a Star

Adequate Resort

The grounds are beautiful and there are two lovely pools. However, there were six umbrellas at each pool and in 35° weather you need to be under an umbrella. Several people on the resort requested more umbrellas and nothing was done about it in two weeks. The Buffets are the same every day and there are only three à la carte restaurants that you cannot get into unless you stand in line for almost an hour to get a ticket. The a la carte restaurants were very good. Check in was horrendous. Ther [... read more]e were only two of us in line and it took almost an hour to get our room. Inexperienced staff and a manager that never showed up. This could be a very good resort if there was proper management, more efficient service and better food in the Buffets.

Beautiful resort

grounds were perfectly manicured, beautiful, food was great. pools were clean warm nice swim up bar. lots of stairs and hills. buffet and snack bars were good. drinks were mixed perfect. rooms were immaculate. no complaints

A Wonderful Place, with Great Staff

I loved my stay here. The grounds were immaculate, the food great (whomever makes their bread is a certified genius), and the beach was spotless. More important than that, however, I have to commend the staff. During my stay I had a bad reaction to newly prescribed antibiotics which caused severe digestive upset. I had already booked an excursion the morning after a major night-time episode, and spoke to the concierge about the advisability of actually going on the excursion (the policy is n [... read more]o refunds, if cancelled in less than 24 hours), as I did feel slightly better than I had. The front desk staff went out of their way to re-arrange it so that I could go on the excursion the following day. I didn't ask them to - I fully expected to lose my money, if I was unable to go on the excursion. I profusely expressed my gratitude. Well, I spent the rest of that day alternating between sleeping in my room and trying to eat something (at first all I could tolerate the thought of was dry bread and watermelon) in the buffet restaurant. The wait staff noticed, and several of them asked if I was okay. Then one of the waiters quietly brought me a glass of ginger ale (unbidden - I don't like ginger ale, and it would never have occurred to me to try this) and suggested I sip it throughout the day. It worked like a charm to settle my stomach, and I was extremely grateful. I slowly began to feel better, and went on the excursion the next morning. A day or two later, one of the staff approached me to ask if I was enjoying myself - he knew I was travelling alone, and had been ill, and wanted to know if I needed anything. At first suspicious (I live in Toronto), as he spoke I quickly realized that the staff had been keeping an eye on me and that they were genuinely concerned about my well-being. These are people who work 12 hour days, six days a week, and most probably will never see me again. Yes, I wholeheartedly recommend this resort.

Beautiful Resort. Be prepared to walk a LOT

Beautiful resort, great food considering it is an all inclusive buffet. Too many steps. Not really handi-capable. You have to be willing to walk a lot to get anywhere. Beach is public so a lot of locals and many children. We specifically booked this resort to vacation away from children. We simply wanted adult time and weren’t aware the beach was public and screaming children everywhere.

Sensational and exceptional. Fully deserving of all five stars.

In every respect. As a brand new facility, built on a gentle slope, the service is excellent and the food is exquisite. Only 165 rooms and although it was full when we were there never felt it. The buffet restaurant features theme cuisine nightly from Costa Rican to Mexican, Peruvian, Caribbean, French, international, and chefs surprise. Hardly want to break away to the specialty restaurants although the Italian restaurant is also excellent. Beaches in Costa Rica are all public. The hotel bea [... read more]ch is pleasant. Beach exploration is a passion on this bay and in this area. More spectacular beaches are 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 30 minutes away. Transportation easily arranged. Unforgettable experience. Flawless.

This was such a beautiful resort.

I loved the hotel. This was one of my best trips so far. Everything about it was excellent. The rooms were cleaned everyday, the staff were friendly. The grounds were kept up. I can't complain about anything. The food was very good especially the desserts. I would reccomend this resort.

Best resort

Very professional hotel. The food was extremely delicious. The staff were fun, again professional and a stress free environment. Didn’t feel stressed out or had any questions or concerned. I highly recommend this resort! 10 on 10 👍

Great vacation!!!

Beautiful grounds(well taken care of) great pools (very clean) and the beach was a wonderful Costa Rica beach with great views. High Tide early afternoon a few days when we were there... so we just hopped on over to one of the pools. Food was good, breakfast was similar each morning but a lot of variety and I'm not sure what else could be added, it was all there and yummy! Buffet is in a small space so there can be a bit of a line at busy times to get your food. Room was nice, clean but time for [... read more] an update or a freshening up. Two little things we think need work over all; towels for the pool and beach- our first day it took us 4 visits to the towel area to get a towel because they didnt know when they would be clean? This was first thing in the morning... maybe purchase more towels? The other would be more shuttles and smaller maybe, like a golf cart? The drivers were very professional and know those narrow roads like the back of their hands... might help them to have more driving staff and smaller vehicles. We've been to Costa Rica twice and we come for the heat, beach and relaxation. We had a very great vacation at Occidental. It's a lovely resort over all and the staff are great!!!

Laidback vacation

We just came back from spending a week at this very quiet and relaxing resort. With being the dry season not a lot of green foliage but still the grounds were well kept. All the staff were very friendly and would go above and beyond to make are stay perfect. We booked a deluxe bay view room and we had the perfect view. We were in block 4 it was quiet and away from things. Definitely a lot of walking up and down hills to get around the resort so anyone with issues would have a difficult time. T [... read more]here are carts that you can call for pick ups or they will pick you up on their way. Top shelf alcohol just ask. We ate at all 3 restaurants and repeated the grill. The buffet was very small not a lot of choices same things every day this was probably the only disappointing thing. We enjoy seafood and there really wasn’t any. Other then that was fun watching the monkeys and again a great place to relax with a good book. If anyone is looking for night life don’t go here. The weather did not disappoint very very hot. Thanks to all the staff that made are stay very pleasant.

Great vacation

The hotel is a little dated but the attentive staff more than make up for it. The ocean view premium upgrade is worth every penny. Loved The Grill, the Italian and Japanese restaurants. The buffet had a different theme every night. Alex in first Club went above and beyond to make our vacation perfect. Manuel at the swim up bar makes incredible drinks. Thanks for everything ! We will be back.

Beautiful place and people

Enjoyed just about everything at the resort.I have to say the beach was not the best,too many pedlars and, jellyfish in waters. The people on the resort were wonderfully kind and respectful.The meals were wonderfully tasty, both in the buffet and a la Carte restaurants.

Resort ok, Costa Rica beautiful weather, Sky zip lining awesome

-grounds well kept -not a nice beach -not enough help in the restaurants with minimal food options (very little variety) -disappointed with room accommodations, booked in September for a late Jan visit, asked for 2 beds in the room, showed up there with a king size bed (only 10 rooms at this resort have 2 beds/room however this was never shared with our group) -ended up having to sleep on a cot for the week, not impressed should have a smoking section at the 2 pool areas (at the back away f [... read more]rom the non-smoking guests) I would not go back to this resort, I would not recommend others to go

A disappointment

The grounds were beautiful and the howler monkeys, iguanas, raccoons and skunk entertaining. But................6 single women travelling together would like the option of 2 queen beds per room vs 1 king and adding a single cot to each room just does not cut it for the price we paid for the trip. The compensation for this inconvenience was an extra a la carte meal that we had to practically beg for to get a reservation only to find the restaurant half empty when we arrived. There was one even [... read more]ing with a fantastic entertainer who played classical guitar and violin but otherwise very little activitity in the evening.

Disappointing resort

This was the most expensive all-inclusive I have been to and for the money we paid, it was a great disappointment. By no means is this a 4 or 5 star hotel, more like a 3 if I'm generous. The hotel has reduced its service to the bare minimum. I would say the cost should have been $1500-$1600 not $2200!!!! King bed in the room when 2 beds were requested. The manager response was they only advertise king but this is not true, their site lists king or 2 double beds. Another excuse was that there's [... read more] only a few and it's on availability when you CHECK IN, not when you book your vacation (no sense). A small single was shoved beside the king as an alternative. Very small buffet which is OK if it's good food, but it was not. The food was bland, cold and generally the same thing every day. Usually there were only 3 fruits, 3 desserts per day. Ice cream was set out in bowls and if they ran out, too bad for you. A la cartes were hard to book and we only rec'd late bookings. Of course we arrived to empty restaurants so why did we have to take late bookings? They've cut back on staff - only one drink server at the main pool, and sometimes only 1 or 2 in the restaurant. Hard to get mimosas (a staple at breakfast usually) and even asking for champagne at dinner was a no no - they would charge for it even though you could walk through the lobby and get it at the bar. The entertainment team (which finally showed up on Thursday) played some games but other than that, not very enthusiastic. The rooms need TLC; they had running toilets, faucets ready to break off, no water pressure in shower, key cards constantly not working. I will not return to this hotel nor recommend it to anyone.

Lovely weather, not a hotel for group getaway

The views at this resort are one of the best selling points along with the majority of staff. The weather also helps This resort would not be a great location as group getaways due to the fact that there are only 10 rooms in the resort have 2 beds, despite there indication of deluxe bay view having 2 beds or king. This would be designated a couples resort not adults only. The rooms need some updating. Wifi intermittent and most of time not functioning in the rooms, malfunctioning room key cards [... read more]. The food at the buffet was mediocre and service at the beginning of the vacation was pretty sparse. Difficult to get into the a la carte restaurants with line ups every day. Of all my vacations with my girlfriends, this was my most disappointing.

A resort with opportunity

The location of the resort is great with a short commute from the airport. The check in process was very confusing and we didnt recieve all of the welcome package.The resort is clean and the staff are friendly. However the room always carried an odour with limited space to unpack your suitcase. The food is just standard with a few moments of brilliance. External activites are somewhat overpriced and you can get better deals from the locals at the beach. Pools are great and the beach is great i [... read more]n the morning hours when the tide is out. Our stay was good but we were looking for more.